Data is often collected and stored in databases. Access to a database can be managed by a database management system, such as a relational database management system (RDBMS). To retrieve or update data in a database, database queries, such as Structured Query Language (SQL) queries, can be submitted to the database management system.
A database can include one or multiple tables, where each table contains data arranged in rows and columns. In large databases, tables can be relatively large in size. To allow more efficient access of tables within a database, indexes can be maintained for the tables in the database. In response to a query to access a table on which an index is maintained, the database management system can access the index to more quickly formulate an answer to the query.